Manufacture of mouthpiece cigarettes



July 1, 1969 E GE'MMELL 3,452,758

MANUFACTURE OF MOUTHPIECE CIGARETTES Filed July 13, 1967 v Sheet of 2 July 1, 1969 R. E. M.GEMMELL 3,452,758

MANUFACTURE OF MOUTHPIECE CIGARETTES- Filed July 13, 1967 Sheet 3 of 2 United States Patent 3,452,758 MANUFACTURE OF MOUTHPIECE CIGARETTES Robert Ernest Matheson Gemmell, London, England, as-

signor to Molins Machine Company Limited, London, England, a corporation of Great Britain Filed July 13, 1967, Ser. No. 653,104 Claims priority, application Great Britain, July 20, 1966, 32,503/ 66 Int. Cl. A24c /28, 5/52 US. Cl. 131-94 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Background of the invention This invention concerns improvements in or relating to apparatus for making assemblages of rods by forming groups of axially aligned rod elements and joining them end to end.

An example of such an assemblage is one consisting of two cigarette lengths with a mouthpiece rod (e.g., a filter rod) between them. Another example is a group of two mouthpiece rods with a cigarette length between them. In each case the assemblage is eventually subdivided by cutting through the central element of the group to produce two mouthpiece cigarettes. A mouthpiece rod may consist of a length of filtering material, or a hollow tube, or any combination of these, or any other rod suitable for use as a cigarette mouthpiece.

Another example of such an assemblage of rods is a group of three mouthpiece rods of which the central one is of different character from that of the two end ones, and which when assembled and united may be subdivided through the central element to produce two composite filters. Such subdivision may take place after the assemblage has been joined end to end with two cigarette rods.

Summary of the invention According to the present invention there is provided apparatus for making assemblages of rods by forming groups of axially aligned rod elements, each group consisting of a central element of one kind and two end elements of another kind, the apparatus comprising a rotating fluted assembly drum, a first supply station past which the assembly drum rotates and having means to feed an end element lengthwise into each successive flute which registers therewith, a second supply station having means to feed a central element into every second flute which registers therewith, and a discharge station having means to remove a complete group from every second flute that registers therewith, the drum having an odd number of flutes so that during one revolution of the drum alternate flutes register with the said second supply station and other flutes register with the discharge station, while on the next revolution of the drum the said other flutes register with the said second supply station and the said alternate flutes register with the discharge station, each flute after receiving a central element thus passing again 3,452,758 Patented July 1, 1 969 through the first supply station to receive a further end element to complete the group, prior to registering with the discharge station.

The apparatus may include a fluted feeding drum at said second supply station to supply central elements to the assembly drum and arranged to carry said central elements in flutes having a pitch substantially twice that of the flutes of the assembly drum. Means may be provided to feed said central elements lengthwise into flutes of the feeding drum.

There may be provided two continuous rod-making machines arranged to feed continuous rods of diiferent materials towards said assembly drum and said feeding drum respectively, and means to out said continuous rods to produce the said end elements and central elements respectively. For example the two machines may be a continuous tube-making machine and a continuous rod cigarette-making machine respectively.

Further according to the invention there is provided apparatus for making mouthpiece cigarettes, comprising an assembling station, means to feed a continuous cigarette rod in one direction towards said station, means to feed a continuous mouthpiece rod (e.g., a continuous tube) in the opposite direction towards said station, means to cut cigarette lengths and mouthpiece lengths from said continuous rods, and means at said station to associate said lengths with each other to form assemblages.

Brief description of the drawing Apparatus in accordance with the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of the arrangement, and

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged side elevation, taken on the line IIII, FIGURE 1.

Description of the preferred embodiment FIGURE 1 diagrammatically shows two continuous rod-making machines, namely a continuous rod cigarettemaking machine 1 and a continuous tube-making machine 2. The cigarette-making machine which may be of any suitable known kind, produces a continuous cigarette rod which is severed by cut-01f mechanism, generally indicated at 3, into sections 4 each of which is of double the length required in a mouthpiece cigarette. These sections are accelerated to space them apart, and are fed in succession into peripheral flutes 5 of a drum 6 which rotates in the direction shown by the arrow on the drum in FIGURE 2. The cigarette lengths 4 are given a component of movement in the direction in which the flutes 5 are moving by a rotating deflector disc 7 having a thread 8.

The tube-making machine forms a continuous paper or cardboard tube T in any suitable manner. The continuous tube is cut by cut-off mechanism 9, FIGURE 1, into sections 10 each of the length required for the mouthpiece or stub of a mouthpiece cigarette, and the sections are accelerated and spaced apart, and deflected by a deflector disc 11 into flutes 12 in a drum 13 which rotates as shown by the arrow thereon. On the drum 13 the cigarette lengths 4 are assembled with stubs 10 (i.e. hollow tubes) in groups of three, i.e. a central cigarette length 4 aligned with two end stubs 10, in a manner which will shortly be described, and the drum 13 can therefore be described as an assembly drum. Complete groups or assemblies are transferred from the assembly drum to flutes 14 on a transfer drum 15. These groups or assemblies are transferred from the transfer drum 15, on to a concave plate 18, above which is mounted a drum 19. The drum 19, which rotates as shown by the arrow, has suction ports on its periphery to which two webs 20 of adhesive strip material are held by suction. These two webs are spaced apart side by side as seen in FIGURE 1, and are fed to the drum 19 at a controlled speed slower than the peripheral speed of the drum 19 so that the drum slips beneath them. Lengths or strips 21 are cut from the webs by knives 22 and promptly assume the speed of the drum surface and thus move away from the webs. Each pair of cut strips is brought into contact with an assembly as the latter moves on to the concave plate 18, and as rolling motion is imparted to the assemblage it rolls over the strips which are thus wrapped around them. The strips are located and spaced apart so that each strip partially overlaps an end portion of the central cigarette length of an assembly and the adjacent end portion of an end stub, so that the parts of the assembly are united. The united assemblies are transferred to flutes in a set of rotating discs 23, and from there to flutes in a conveyor 24, and are then carried past a disc knife (not shown) which cuts midway through each central cigarette length, thus dividing each assembly into two mouthpiece cigarettes.

Returning now to the assembly of cigarette lengths and stubs, the assembly drum 13 has an odd number of flutes, in this particular embodiment thirty-five flutes 12, and as the drum rotates each successive flute 12 receives a stub from the deflector disc 11. Further rotation of the drum 13 brings the flutes 12 close to the drum 6, whose cigarettereceiving flutes 5 are so spaced apart as to register with every second flute 12 of the drum 13. When this occurs, the cigarette length carried in that flute 5 will be transferred to the flute 12 which registers with it. The cigarettereceiving flutes 5 are provided with stops 5a, FIGURE 1, which check the lengthwise movement of cigarette lengths 4 along the flutes, and locate them midway along the flutes. The flutes 12 on the drum 13, however, have only end stops 12a, FIGURE 1, so that a stub fed into an empty flute 12 moves to the end of the flute, leaving room for a cigarette length to be received in the mid-portion of the flute.

A flute 12 which is empty as it approaches the deflector disc 11 receives a stub, which slides along to the end of the flute as described above, and then receives a cigarette length from a cigarette-receiving flute 5 of the drum 6. These are carried around with the drum 13 towards the transfer drum 15. The transfer flutes 14 on the transfer drum 15 register only with every second flute 12 on the drum 13, and a flute 12 containing only one stub and a cigarette length does not register with a transfer flute 14, but with an intermediate flute 14a, whose purpose is merely to accommodate momentarily the contents of a passing flute 12 which registers with it, thus avoiding damage to the cigarette and stub. The stub and cigarette length are thus carried past the drum 1S and the flute 12 which contains them then again passes the deflector-disc 11 and receives a further stub, which is stopped by the cigarette length already in the flute. The flute now contains a complete assembly of a central cigarette length and two outer stubs, end to end.

The filled flute then moves past the drum 6, but as the drum 13 has an odd number of flutes 12 and as the cigarette-carrying flutes 5 on the drum 6- register only with every second flute 12, it will be seen that no cigarette length will register with the filled flute 12. The drum 6, however, (like the drum 15) is provided with intermediate flutes 5b, located between the cigarette-carrying flutes 5, whose purpose is merely to accommodate momentarily the contents of filled flutes 12 as they pass each other and thus avoid damage to the cigarette lengths and stubs.

Further rotation of the drum 12 brings the filled flute into register with a transfer flute 14 on the transfer drum 15, and the assembly is transferred into the flute 14 and carried towards the plate 18 and rolling drum 19 as above described.

The flutes 12 on the assembly drum 13, as well as the cigarette-carrying flutes 5 on the drum 6 and the transfer .4 flutes 14 on the transfer drum 15', may be provided with suction ports, communicating with suction chambers within the respective drums, to control the conveyance and transfer of the cigarette lengths, stubs and complete assemblies as required. In the case of the drum 6, suction may be cut off from the flutes 5 just before they come into register with the appropriate flutes 12 in the assembly drum 1 3, while suction may be momentarily cut off from the flutes 12 to enable assemblies to be transferred to transfer flutes 14.

The drum 13 has two suction chambers 13a and 1312, which as shown in FIGURE 2 are spaced apart at the region where the flutes 12 register with flutes on the transfer drum 15, so that no suction is exerted through a flute 12 at that region. The transfer flutes 14 on the transfer drum 15 come into communication with a suction chamber 15a, which as shown in FIGURE 2 extends from the position where a flute 12 registers with a transfer flute 14. The intermediate flutes 14a do not communicate with the suction chamber 15a so that when a flute 12 containing only one stub and a cigarette length registers with a flute 1 4a, as explained above, the stub and cigarette simply remain in the flute 12 and are carried past the drum 15, suction being exerted on them again as soon as the flute 12 comes into communication with the suction chamber 13b.

A complete assembly carried by a flute 12 into register with a transfer flute 14 is freed from suction from the drum 13 and is suctionally attracted to the transfer flute 14 is then transferred to the flute 14.

The suction chamber 15a extends around the drum 15 to a position just short of that at which an assembly engages an adhesive strip 21 on the drum 19.

The drum 19, as mentioned above, has suction ports which hold the web 20 and strips 21 to the drum, and the suction chamber within the drum 19 may be arranged to communicate only with two rows of these ports in the region where only the web and the strips are being conveyed, but may be extended in the region 19a, FIGURE 2, so as also to exert suction on the assemblies being transferred to the drum surface from the transfer flutes 14 of the drum 15. This suction chamber extends to a position just short of the rolling plate 18, so that assemblies entering between the plate 18 and drum 19 are free to roll over the strips 21, which are themselves free to wrap themselves around the assemblies.

The three drums 6, 13 and 15 are illustrated as arranged side by side at the same level, but it will be appreciated that they could be differently positioned if desired.

The arrangement described and illustrated produces assemblies consisting of a central cigarette length and two outer stubs. It will, however, be appreciated that the arrangement could if desired be modified so as to feed double-length stubs to the drum 6 and single cigarette lengths to the assembly drum 13, so as to produce assemblies each having a central stub and two end cigarette lengths.

Further, in the arrangement described the rod-making machine 2 produces a continuous hollow tube from which tubular stubs are severed. It will be appreciated however that a machine for making continuous stub rod of any other desired kind could be substituted.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Apparatus for making assemblages of rods by forming groups of axially aligned rod elements, each group consisting of a central element of one kind and two end elements of another kind, the apparatus comprising a rotatable fluted assembly drum, a first supply station past which the assembly drum rotates and having means to feed an end element lengthwise into each successive flute which registers therewith, a second supply station having means to feed a central element into every second flute which registers therewith, and a discharge station having means to remove a complete group from every second flute that registers therewith, the drum having an odd number of flutes so that during one revolution of the drum alternate flutes register with the said second supply station and other flutes register with the discharge station, while on the next revolution of the drum the said other flutes register with the said second supply station and the said alternate flutes register with the discharge station, each flute after receiving a central element thus passing again through the first supply station to receive a further end element to complete the group, prior to registering with the discharge station.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, comprising a fluted feeding drum at said second supply station to supply central elements to the assembly drum and arranged to carry said central elements in flutes having a pitch substantially twice that of the flutes of the assembly drum,

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, comprising means to feed said central elements lengthwise into flutes of the feeding drum.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, comprising two continuous rod-making machines arranged to feed continuous rods of different materials towards said assembly drum and said feeding drum respectively, and means to cut said continuous rods to produce the said end elements and central elements respectively.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, comprising means to join the elements of completed groups by means of adhesive encircling bands covering the regions where the elements abut one another.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, adapted for producing groups of cigarettes and mouthpiece portions for the manufacture of mouthpiece cigarettes.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the continuous rod-making machines are respectively a continuous tube-making machine and a continuous rod cigarettemaking machine.

8. Apparatus for making mouthpiece cigarettes, comprising an assembling station, means to feed a continuous cigarette rod in one direction towards said station, means to feed a continuous mouthpiece rod in the opposite direction towards said stations, means to cut cigarette lengths and mouthpiece lengths from said continuous rods, and means at said station to associate said lengths with each other to form assemblages, wherein said means at the assembling station to associate said lengths with each other comprises a rotatable fluted assembly drum, a first supply station having means to feed a mouthpiece length having means to feed a cigarette length lengthwise into each successive flute which registers therewith, a second supply station having mean to feed a mouthpiece length into every second flute which registers therewith, and a discharge station having means to remove a complete group from every second flute that registers therewith, the drum having an odd number of flutes so that during one revolution of the drum alternate flutes register with the second supply station and other flutes register with the discharge station, while on the next revolution of the drum the other flutes register with said second supply station and the alternate flutes register with the discharge station, each flute after receiving a mouthpiece length thus passing again through the first supply station to receive a further cigarette length to complete the group, prior to registering with the discharge station.

9. Apparatus for making mouthpiece cigarettes, comprising an assembling station, means to feed a continuous cigarette rod in one direction towards said station, means to feed a continuous mouthpiece rod in the opposite direction towards said stations, means to cut cigarette lengths and mouthpiece lengths from said continuous rods, and means at said station to associate said lengths with each other to form assemblages, wherein said means at the assembling station to associate said lengths with each other comprises a rotatable fluted assembly drum, a first supply station past which the assembly drum rotates and having means to feed a mouthpiece length lengthwise into each successive flute which registers therewith, a second supply station having means to feed a cigarette length into every second flute which registers therewith, and a dis charge station having means to remove a compelte group from every second flute which registers therewith, the drum having an odd number of flutes so that during one revolution of the drum alternate flutes register with the second supply station and other flutes register with the discharge station, while on the next revolution of the drum the other flutes register with the second supply station and the alternate flutes register with the discharge station, each flute after receiving a cigarette length thus passing again through the first supply station to receive a further mouthpiece length to complete the group, prior to registering with the discharge station.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,219,491 10/1940 Podmore. 3,080,871 3/1963 Molins et al. 13l94 3,119,397 1/1964 Molins et al. 13l94 3,158,251 11/1964 Skala et a1 13194 X FOREIGN PATENTS 959,345 5/1964 Great Britain.

SAMUEL KOREN, Primary Examiner. JAMES H. CZERWONKY, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. l9825 

